Why had he gone back there? Perhaps it was for a purpose, as if going back to the place he was born was going to instantly give him a new life. Even though he’d been exiled d’Artagnan thought that home might hold the answer to all his problems. How wrong could he have been? That place was not home anymore, there were no traces of his family anywhere, just remnants of a past long forgotten. There were few there that the shade remembered from his youth, some had become admirable warriors and others had fallen by the wayside, but he had gleamed enough from them to learn that there was no blood of his here anymore. Except perhaps for the family of Déodat and even they were distant relatives of a much more royal household, relatives he dared not approach for fear they’d slap him in chains. In the end all he had learnt was that his family was gone… along with Kou. There was nothing in the land of clans to find but bitter regret and a new generation of murderers. This was no longer home and perhaps, somewhere down his crooked past, the cold north of the Aurora Basin had become the replacement for this warped land that had cruelly exiled him.

Even though there was no Kou in Helovia anymore and the old herd he’d served was changing hands, his blood still roamed here. Aviya, Nao, Sacre, Roux, Ráeru… Mesec. The hybrid colt, surely nearing stallion, was an enigma is his life as he both hated and loved the boy. Perhaps it was best that he left in the end and found a life of his own away from his tapped father. Still, if purpose was what he wanted, then there was enough here to tie him down, he had his children to serve and protect. Kou would have to wait a little longer for her Doctor to return to her, but he hoped she would forgive him for dallying as he set on a path to protect his family from anymore harm. He fell to a halt on the cold abyss of the Frostbreath Steppe and looked out across the mountains that melted under a blistering Tallsun. "Just wait a bit longer for me. I’m not done with this life yet" he called out across the waste keeping the image of Kou in his head before slowly letting her fade away. He would have the whole of the afterlife to spend with her, but before then, he had things to do and matters to settle.

Feeling a little better in himself, he turned his gaze in the direction of the Aurora Basin and wondered what they’d been up to since he last saw it. He hadn’t been gone a season quite, but a few days was enough to miss what felt like a months worth of action here. He wondered if the healing magic still ran through him or whether that had gone. It wouldn’t really bother him much; he had been a healer for the whole of his time here apart from the short spell as outcast, though he couldn’t really imagine doing anything else, maybe it would be best to change. To what? That was the question. Though he wouldn’t be any good as a spy, his temper was far too short and his tongue far too quick to offend. A warrior came a little closer, but still, what would he do as a warrior? He’d have to patrol and would be forced from the confines of his cave. A crafter? Ha! Like he’d get in the way of that gear head Ulrik and his weird machines. There was also no way he was talking to the God of Time on a seasonal basis either. He’d only end up insulting the pompous immortal and all manner of ill will would befall the herd because he couldn’t keep his comments to himself. "Are you good at anything?" Came the snide query from his hound who was laid out in front of him. d’Artagnan scowled but, when he thought about it, he wasn’t really good at anything other than poisoning folk. "Killing things" he replied with a snort. Aramis looked at him and cocked his head to one side "such an attractive trait in a healer". For a moment they both stared at one another before laughter broke the scene and the Nightshade shook his head. It didn’t matter what his role was anymore, so long as he could protect what he wanted to protect.

With a sigh and a shift of his leather bag (that was filled with all sorts of weird things), he shuffled his cloven hooves and turned towards the Basin. "Time to go back" he muttered to Aramis, the hound shot to his feet and bounded off in front.

[ooc; open thread! This is d’Artagnan returning to Helovia and on his way back to the Basin. It has a little explanation about where he has been. Feel free for anyone to jump in ^^]